LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Britain's economy shrank less than previously estimated in the second quarter of this year, due to better than expected construction industry performance, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday.
It said GDP shrank by 0.6 percent in the quarter, up from a previous estimate for a decline of 0.7 percent.
On the year, GDP shrank 5.5 percent, unrevised from last month's estimate and the biggest annual decline since records began.
The ONS said the upward revision to the headline quarterly GDP figure was almost entirely due to stronger estimates of construction output than previously forecast.
It also revised down the fall in GDP in the first quarter of this year to show a fall of 2.5 percent, from a previous 2.4 percent decline, because of weaker data on services output.
Separately, the ONS released data on the balance of payments. The current account recorded a deficit of 11.424 billion pounds, or 3.3 percent of GDP.